Stephen Mantha, Child Pornography Production, Massachusetts 2018

A former United States Postal Service (USPS) employee has been sentenced to 196 months in prison for sexually exploiting a child, using USPS computers to access child pornography, and possessing child pornography.

Stephen Mantha, 64, of Spencer, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 196 months in prison and five years of supervised release. In February 2018, Mantha pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography, one count of accessing child pornography and one count of possessing of child pornography.

Mantha was caught after investigators from the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) were alerted to suspicious internet searches being conducted on a computer at a Shrewsbury postal facility where Mantha worked as an electronic technician. In the course of the investigation, agents installed a computer activity recorder, which tracked all computer usage on that computer, and, a video camera, which recorded the identity of the person using the computer.

Agents were then able to observe and record as Mantha searched for, and viewed, child pornography on USPS computers. A search of Mantha’s residence resulted in the recovery of numerous thumb drives containing child pornography.

During the review of the materials seized from Mantha’s home, a video was discovered, which had been recorded in approximately 2000 or 2001, depicting Mantha sexually abusing an approximately seven-year-old boy. Agents were able to locate and interview the boy (now an adult), who confirmed the sexual abuse.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. In 2006, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was a joint effort between the United States Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Area Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; the Massachusetts State Police; the Spencer Police Department; and the Shrewsbury Police Department.